The Royal Logistic Corps Museum

Mon 4 May10:00The Royal Logistic Corps Museum

Friends of King Alfred's Buses Running Day

We are delighted to be supporting the Friends of King Alfred’s Buses on their upcoming running day. On Monday May 4th their iconic green buses will once again be shuttling visitors from the town centre to the museum. We will be opening specially to welcome passengers into the museum. Free bus rides will start from the time-honoured departure point in the Broadway for King Alfred services, while the other buses will start their runs at the St Catherine’s Park & Ride site, picking up at the Guildhall on their way. All the details will be contained in the customary high-standard fully illustrated souvenir programme on sale from Friends of King Alfred’s Buses. Revenue from the sale of programmes supports the buses to continue to operate. More than sixty FoKAB members will be volunteering their services in all kinds of roles from driving and conducting, through marshalling to the all-important programme sales, whilst museum staff and volunteers will be ready to welcome you to our site in Worthy Down. Visit their website for full details.

Thu 7 May19:30The Royal Logistic Corps Museum

Talk: Rise & Fall of the British Army

The Rise & Fall of the British Army In his new book The Rise and Fall of the British Army, 1975–2025, Ben Barry analyses how the British Army evolved over the last half century. He shows how the Army’s combat capability increased throughout the 1980s in the face of a prospective war with the Soviet Union. The Army was tested on operations from Northern Ireland, the Falklands War, the 1991 Gulf War, through the Balkans and Sierra Leone to Afghanistan in 2001 and the 2003 invasion of Iraq. There followed two decades of descent from this high plateau of military success. Mistakes made in Iraq and Afghanistan led to a decline in support for military deployments. Cuts to defence funding and botched equipment procurements left the British Army of 2025 less than half the size of that of 1975, with much fighting equipment either obsolete or approaching obsolescence. There are lessons for the future from this half century of combat, continuity and change. The book identifies success factors for strategic leadership, innovation, adaptation and Army change programmes, as well as lessons from the Cold War relevant to the Army’s challenging new role in NATO. Brigadier Ben Barry Ben Barry is a Associate Fellow, Defence and Military Analysis. He joined the IISS in 2010, before which he served in the British Army.

Thu 18 Jun19:30The Royal Logistic Corps Museum

Talk: Ring of Fire - A New Global History of the Outbreak of the First World War

Ring of Fire As war broke out in the summer of 1914, not a nation on Earth understood the magnitude of what they were about to face. To win it, whole populations had to be mobilised, and neutrality was impossible. The scale of destruction was unfathomable and no life was left unchanged. Our understanding of this complex conflict has been coloured by a blinkered approach to popular history. It has ignored the fact that Denmark actively participated in laying minefields as soon as war began; that the first British shots were fired in West Africa, by a black man; and that the first Australian casualties occurred not at Gallipoli, but in the Pacific. In this engaging evening talk, Alex explores her latest book – Ring of Fire: A New Global History of the Outbreak of the First World War – co-authored by Nicolai Eberholst. The authors of this radical new history have scoured the globe in search of an enormous quantity of fresh material. This is not history told by ‘great men’, this is a people’s view of the war. Eyewitness accounts translated from more than a dozen languages break new ground to reveal an inclusive, touching and surprising tale of events we thought we knew. Alex Churchill A Fellow of The Royal Historical Society, Alex is a full-time author and television historian specialising in military, royal and maritime history. Primarily Alex focuses on the First World War, but she has been known to dabble in the Second World War.

Thu 30 Jul19:30The Royal Logistic Corps Museum

Talk: The Work of the MOD War Detectives

The MOD War Detectives The MOD War Detectives are tasked with identifying missing British Service Personnel from the two World Wars and the Korean War. Working closely with partners including the Commonwealth War Graves Commission their work has two main strands – the identification of remains recently recovered from the battlefields, and the identification of those currently buried in graves marked ‘Known to God’. The potential candidates for a newly recovered casualty are first shortlisted using a range of archival sources before genealogical research is undertaken to establish descendants suitable for DNA testing. In these cases identity is confirmed only on the basis of successful DNA matching. For those buried as ‘Known to God’ identification is carried out only via archival research which has to prove the case to be clear and convincing, though genealogical research is carried out after the case is approved in order to notify the casualty’s next of kin. Whether or not it is possible to identify a newly found casualty, the War Detectives also organise a full military funeral for them – arranging their burial alongside their comrades in the CWGC cemeteries.

Thu 22 Oct19:30The Royal Logistic Corps Museum

Talk: Mavericks - Empire, Oil, Revolution and the Forgotten Battle of WW1

In this engaging talk Nick brings his book to life Mavericks: Empire, Oil, Revolution and the Forgotten Battle of WW1 When Russia crashed out of the First World War following the Revolution in 1917, Britain was desperate to prevent the Germans and Turks seizing the oil-rich Russian port of Baku on the Caspian Sea. But the country had few soldiers to spare and Baku was hundreds of miles from the nearest British army. So a ramshackle plan was hastily thrown together by officials with little local knowledge to block the Turks, and a small group of enterprising, fearless and often reckless men were tasked with implementing it. First they had to cross Persia, a famine-stricken country of snowbound mountain passes and roads built not for motor traffic, but for mule trains and camels. Nick Higham’s talk tells the story of the little-known Battle of Baku, of five charismatic and unorthodox characters involved in the battle – including the man who was the model for one of Rudyard Kipling’s most popular characters, and another who went on to publish his first book at the age of 99 – and of the often-unsung heroes of the Army Service Corps, who transported this ramshackle little army and kept it supplied against almost insuperable odds. Nick Higham Nick Higham is a journalist, interviewer and author, and a former BBC News reporter. He was the BBC’s first dedicated media correspondent, spent 14 years as arts and media correspondent, and went on to report on a wide range of subjects on...

Thu 26 Nov19:30The Royal Logistic Corps Museum

Talk: Science in Warfare—A Logistician’s Perspective

From the chariots of ancient battlefields to the quantum technologies shaping tomorrow’s conflicts, science and innovation have always been at the heart of military success. In this engaging talk, Professor Edward Rochead explores how military needs have driven technological breakthroughs—many of which have transformed not only the art of war but also the logistics that underpin it. Drawing on vivid historical examples, from the Royal Navy’s supply chains to the birth of operational research in WWII, Professor Rochead traces three key epochs: the pre-atomic era, where military demand spurred innovation; the post-war period, when civilian advances began to outpace military R&D; and the present, where maintaining an edge means harnessing the latest in science, technology, and data. With a special focus on logistics—the lifeblood of military operations—this talk will spark discussion on how lessons from the past can inform the future of defence support, resilience, and adaptability in an ever-changing world. Professor Edward Rochead Professor Edward Rochead is a leading authority on the intersection of science, technology, and defence. With a distinguished career spanning almost three decades at the Ministry of Defence, Edward has held a range of senior roles.

Thu 10 Dec19:30The Royal Logistic Corps Museum

Talk: The Cape Frontier Wars (1779-1878)

The Cape Frontier Wars (1779-1878) The Cape Frontier Wars consisted of nine wars over one hundred years and arguably had as big an impact on the shaping of South Africa and the British Empire as the Anglo-Zulu (1879) and Boer Wars (1880-81, 1899-1902). But, the Cape Frontier Wars have a much lower profile and are far less well understood by many. Despite the full resources of the British Army, colonial settlers and Empire, the indigenous Khoisan and amaXhosa refused to be subdued, and adapted their military resistance in consecutive bloody conflicts, moving from open combat around colonial towns to guerilla tactics from mountain or bush strongholds. The price on both sides was heavy. The British Government and Cape administration were crippled by the mounting costs of military and administrative intervention. The amaXhosa were crippled by the loss of land, dignity and livestock. Hatred between the colonial settlers and indigenous tribes mounted as the wars continued, decade after decade. How would the intractable problem of the Cape be solved? Military might alone did not seem to solve matters. It was a Gordian knot. The conflict threw-up huge characters and epic events that represent the zeitgeist of the time: Sir Harry Smith and Lady Smith (the darlings of Queen Victoria and the Duke of Wellington); Richard Gush (a pacifist who saved a settler town); Mkhanda Nxele (the mercurial prophet who came within a whisker of defeating the colonial forces); King Hintsa (killed...

Thu 16 AprThe Royal Logistic Corps Museum, Connaught Road, Worthy Down, Winchester, Hampshire, SO21 2RG, United Kingdom

Talk: Hampshire's Part-Time Soldiers

ROSE, CASTLE AND CROWN: HAMPSHIRE AND THE ISLE OF WIGHT’S CITIZEN SOLDIERS This talk, based on the book written by Colonel (Retd) Patrick Crowley MBE DL, explores a unique history of the part-time soldier of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, from the time of the militia, yeomanry and volunteer, through to the Territorial Army and today’s Army Reserve. This is all placed in the wider context of the British Army’s history. The book tells the fascinating story of citizen soldiers woven through times of war and peace. It begins nearly 500 years ago with the raising of a militia that repulsed the French invasion of the Isle of Wight and continues with an examination of volunteers and the subsequent birth of the yeomanry in the late 18th century. Drawn from towns, villages and hamlets across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, volunteers have served at home and in numerous territories abroad: including the former Ottoman Empire, Burma, Siberia, France, Belgium, the Balkans, as well as post-9/11 Afghanistan and Iraq. Rose, Castle and Crown underscores the challenge and sacrifice that all military volunteers, throughout history, have had to make balancing the needs of service with family demands and their main civilian employment.

via The Royal Logistic Corps Museum, Connaught Road, Worthy Down, Winchester, Hampshire, SO21 2RG, United Kingdom

Thu 7 MayThe Royal Logistic Corps Museum, Connaught Road, Worthy Down, Winchester, Hampshire, SO21 2RG, United Kingdom

Talk: Rise & Fall of the British Army

The Rise & Fall of the British Army In his new book The Rise and Fall of the British Army, 1975–2025, Ben Barry analyses how the British Army evolved over the last half century. He shows how the Army’s combat capability increased throughout the 1980s in the face of a prospective war with the Soviet Union. The Army was tested on operations from Northern Ireland, the Falklands War, the 1991 Gulf War, through the Balkans and Sierra Leone to Afghanistan in 2001 and the 2003 invasion of Iraq. There followed two decades of descent from this high plateau of military success. Mistakes made in Iraq and Afghanistan led to a decline in support for military deployments. Cuts to defence funding and botched equipment procurements left the British Army of 2025 less than half the size of that of 1975, with much fighting equipment either obsolete or approaching obsolescence. There are lessons for the future from this half century of combat, continuity and change. The book identifies success factors for strategic leadership, innovation, adaptation and Army change programmes, as well as lessons from the Cold War relevant to the Army’s challenging new role in NATO. Brigadier Ben Barry Ben Barry is a Associate Fellow, Defence and Military Analysis. He joined the IISS in 2010, before which he served in the British Army.

via The Royal Logistic Corps Museum, Connaught Road, Worthy Down, Winchester, Hampshire, SO21 2RG, United Kingdom

Thu 18 JunThe Royal Logistic Corps Museum, Connaught Road, Worthy Down, Winchester, Hampshire, SO21 2RG, United Kingdom

Talk: Ring of Fire - A New Global History of the Outbreak of the First World War

Ring of Fire As war broke out in the summer of 1914, not a nation on Earth understood the magnitude of what they were about to face. To win it, whole populations had to be mobilised, and neutrality was impossible. The scale of destruction was unfathomable and no life was left unchanged. Our understanding of this complex conflict has been coloured by a blinkered approach to popular history. It has ignored the fact that Denmark actively participated in laying minefields as soon as war began; that the first British shots were fired in West Africa, by a black man; and that the first Australian casualties occurred not at Gallipoli, but in the Pacific. In this engaging evening talk, Alex explores her latest book – Ring of Fire: A New Global History of the Outbreak of the First World War – co-authored by Nicolai Eberholst. The authors of this radical new history have scoured the globe in search of an enormous quantity of fresh material. This is not history told by ‘great men’, this is a people’s view of the war. Eyewitness accounts translated from more than a dozen languages break new ground to reveal an inclusive, touching and surprising tale of events we thought we knew. Alex Churchill A Fellow of The Royal Historical Society, Alex is a full-time author and television historian specialising in military, royal and maritime history. Primarily Alex focuses on the First World War, but she has been known to dabble in the Second World War.

via The Royal Logistic Corps Museum, Connaught Road, Worthy Down, Winchester, Hampshire, SO21 2RG, United Kingdom

Thu 22 OctThe Royal Logistic Corps Museum, Connaught Road, Worthy Down, Winchester, Hampshire, SO21 2RG, United Kingdom

Talk: Mavericks - Empire, Oil, Revolution and the Forgotten Battle of WW1

In this engaging talk Nick brings his book to life Mavericks: Empire, Oil, Revolution and the Forgotten Battle of WW1 When Russia crashed out of the First World War following the Revolution in 1917, Britain was desperate to prevent the Germans and Turks seizing the oil-rich Russian port of Baku on the Caspian Sea. But the country had few soldiers to spare and Baku was hundreds of miles from the nearest British army. So a ramshackle plan was hastily thrown together by officials with little local knowledge to block the Turks, and a small group of enterprising, fearless and often reckless men were tasked with implementing it. First they had to cross Persia, a famine-stricken country of snowbound mountain passes and roads built not for motor traffic, but for mule trains and camels. Nick Higham’s talk tells the story of the little-known Battle of Baku, of five charismatic and unorthodox characters involved in the battle – including the man who was the model for one of Rudyard Kipling’s most popular characters, and another who went on to publish his first book at the age of 99 – and of the often-unsung heroes of the Army Service Corps, who transported this ramshackle little army and kept it supplied against almost insuperable odds. Nick Higham Nick Higham is a journalist, interviewer and author, and a former BBC News reporter. He was the BBC’s first dedicated media correspondent, spent 14 years as arts and media correspondent, and went on to report on a wide range of subjects on...

via The Royal Logistic Corps Museum, Connaught Road, Worthy Down, Winchester, Hampshire, SO21 2RG, United Kingdom